Crockpot Rice and Bean Soup

Beans are a great source of protein! Kids need protein for growing muscles! Beans have about 15 grams of protein per cup. A good rule of thumb to know how much protein your kids need is, 0.45-0.55 grams per pound of body weight for kids age 1- 14 years old. So, a 40 pound child, only needs about 20 grams of protein for the entire day- a little more than 1 cup of beans! This soup will get them to their recommended amount in no time!

Bean and veggie soups are the perfect slow cooker meals! You can start your beans from dry (rather than canned), which is cheaper and void of added salts. Then, you can add a variety of veggies and the soup comes out perfect every time! We save our Crockpot dinners for those days when I know I’ll be gone all afternoon. When my kids activities run back to back, I have meetings, or three carpools, we usually have to put something in the slow cooker. It’s the perfect way to eat a healthy, hot meal, despite a lack of time.

I usually keep several of these mixed bean soup packages in the pantry because they are cheap, shelf stable, good for you, and totally delicious! I’ve never used the seasoning packet it comes with, but I love the variety of beans it provides.

Our crockpot creation tonight was simple:

Dried beans

Chicken broth

Veggies: Onions, celery and carrots.

Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Grains: Rice! I like to add rice, barley, pasta, or other grains to our soups to give it a little more hardiness.

The hardest part- chopping the veggies.

The easiest part- dumping it all in and leaving!

Here is our final recipe! Also, don’t forget to check out our menu plan for this week!

We loved this soup. This soup is more fiber and nutrients including magnesium which is an unexpected delight in a traditional beans and crockpot rice soup. It is very easy to make it. Thanks for sharing this blog article.

presoaking beans overnight does not cause sprouting. perhaps leaving them for several days would cause sprouting, but unless they are rinsed daily, it can also cause nasty side effects. Follow the packaging instructions to soak your beans. OR follow sprouting instructions, but don’t just leave them in water

The tomato paste is probably acting like a thickener. To replace it, I’d try some already cooked small potato. It should cook down further and thicken the broth. You might have to mess around with it to get it exact, but that’s what I’d start out with.

Tomatoes were horrible for me when my reflux was at it’s worst, and I did use potato successfully to thicken chili a time or two. Good luck!